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PATENTED JAN. 12, 1904.

mim mu m I it A M u u Y J. V. RICE, JR. ELECTRIC SPARKING IGNITION APPARATUS FOR GAS ROCK DRILLS.

APPL TION II D JUN 1895. BEN WED JU Y'IB 1898.

[1i rmllllllllfllllllllllflllllfll No. 749,324: PATENTED JAN. 12, 1904. I J. V. RICE, JE- ELECTRIC SPARKING IGNITION APPARATUS FOR GAS ROCK DRILLS.

APPLICATION 11.21) JUNE 8', 1895. BNEWED JULY 16, 1998.

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Tu: mums g UNITED STATES Patented January 12, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

J OHN V. RICE, JR, OF EDGEWATER PARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE JOHN V. RICE, JUNIOR, COMPANY, OF EDGEWATER PARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC SPARKING IGNITION APPARATUS FOR GAS ROCK-DRILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,324, dated January 12, 1904. Application filed June 8, 1895. Renewed July 16, 1898. Serial No. 686,134. (No model.)

To all whom it may corwerrt:

, Be it known that I, JOHN V. RICE, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Edgewater Park, in the county of Burlington and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and i useful Improvements in Electric Sparking Ignition Apparatus for Gas Rock-Drills; and I dohereby'declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an igniting device; for gas-driven rock-drills and the llkG, the 1n-f vention having for its object the provision of a simple and efiicientigniter for this kind of machinery.

In the drawings and the following description I have described more or less of the general motor or engine structure, but have done this simply for the purpose of illustrating one form of the engine device with which my improved igniter can be successfully employed.

I Another copending application, filed April I and combination of the parts of the igniting are the induction-ports I for the combined gas and air, while at the opposite ends of the cylinders the side wallsv are provided with the outlet-ports T T, through which the exhaust takes place, there being between ports I and 16, 1903, Serial No. 152,965, is intended to cover the drill proper and the details and pe-,

culiarities thereof, and reference is hereby made to that application for a fuller understanding of the construction and operation of the details of the motor and what I claim thereon.

. The present invention therefore consists, essentially, in'the construction, arrangement,

device, substantially as. will be hereinafter more fully described and then particularly pointed out in the claims;

gas-actuated rock-drill with my improved ignitingdevice applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same with oer tain parts in elevation. Fig. 3 is an enlarged I detail sectional view. of one of the igniting devices. i I

Like letters of reference denote like parts throughoutthe different figures.

A A designate two cylinders of substantially the same size placed in alinement with each cylinder A and chamber N.

piston C in cylinder A and a piston O in cylinder A. The cylinders A A are carried by some suitable frame, as Q on which they, together with all the other connected parts, are adjustable by means of a screw, as Q, having a handle Q. The pistons are both provided with passages running transversely through them, a and c, and each piston is provided with a valve plate or ring for controlling the passage of the gas through the aforesaid passages.

The portion of the piston-rod B which lies within the cylinder A is made hollow to provide a tubular cavity 6 to receive the grooved rod D, made integral with a disk D, and also ratchet in one direction and effectively preventing it from rotating in the other. By this arrangement the piston-rod will during one reciprocation be permitted to pursue a rectilineal movement without rotating, while at the next reciprocation it will not only pursue a rectilineal movement, but will also rotate to a greater or less extent in order to accomplish the necessary shifting of the drill at the end of each stroke in like manner with the cus tomary operation of rock-drills.

At the adjoining ends of the cylinders A A T the auxiliary outlet-ports 25, through which operates the exl1aust-valve. N and N denote small chambers on the wall of thecylinders .A and A. I bore of cylinder A and the chamber N, and

Port T communicates between the tlieport t communicates between the bore of Exhaust-valve Ois located within chamber N and secured upon a valve-stem a, one end of which is supported in a recess in the wall of easing N, while the other end passes through a bearing in the end of the casing N and is attached to the flexible diaphragm T in the chamber N. The cylinders are fitted with a suitable valve mechanism for admitting gas, a mixture of gas and air, or some other suitable explosive compound through the inlet-ports I I; but it is unnecessary to describe their construction here in detail.

At each end of my improved drill-machine is a gas-igniting device, which is preferably electrically operated. One of these devices is located, therefore, at the outer end of each of the cylinders A A.

I will now proceed to describe the construction and arrangement'of the parts of the gasigniting mechanism. 7

J denotes a casing which isscrewed into the side of the cylinder A and is closed by the outer cover J fastened to casing J by means of the screws or any other suitable devices. At the center of the cover J 3 a pipe K is attached thereto, which leads to the cylinder A and enters the wall thereof at a point a short distance from the right-hand end of said cylinder. (See Fig. 1.) On the wall of the cylinder A at a point about opposite to the point of entrance of pipe K is situated a casing J, similar in form and function to the casing J and similarly attached to the cylinder. From the casing J a pipe K leads to the cylinder A and enters the wall thereof at a point approximately opposite to the casing J. (See Fig. 1 and also Fig. 3.) The casings J and J being of similar construction an explanation of one of them will be suflicient for both. By referring to Fig. 6 it will be seen that the casing J is divided interiorly into two compartments by means of a flexible diaphragm M, which is held in place by having its edge inserted between the casing J and the cover J This diaphragm is made of any suitable flexible or yielding materialsuch as, for instance, a thin steel plateand is preferably corrugated in order to increase the contactsurface of the gas therewith, as well as to improve its resilient power. The gas, which enters the casing J through the pipe K, acts against one side of the diaphragm M, but does not pass to the other side thereof. On this latter side are two electric wires or conductors L L, running from some suitable point and passing through the casing J until they enter the adjoining cylinder A or A, as the case may be, where the two points or electrodes L L at the ends of these two wires are situated in close contact with each other and adapted to give a good spark when the electric circuit is closed. One of the wires, L, which passes through the casing J is a continuous wire; but the other is broken into two parts, having two inclined contact ends Z Z, the end Z being carried by the flexible diaphragm M, while the end Z is stationary on casing J. It will be observed that a pressure against the opposite side of diaphragm M will cause the wire end Z to come into contact with wire end Z, although these two ends are normally out of contact with each other, being separated for a short distance in order that the electric circuit may normally be open. The feature of having these ends Z Z inclined as shown is of importance in maintaining an accurate contact between them for the necessary length of time after contact has once been made. When contact between these ends is so made, as stated, it will be evident that by conductivity a spark will be produced between the electrodes L L, which spark will necessarily ignite the volume of gas within that part of the cylinder where the electrodes are located. Thus we have a gas-igniting device for each cylinder which will ignite a volume of gas at the end of each piston-stroke in order to give the necessary impulses to the piston, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an igniting device for gas-driven rockdrills and the like, the combination of a cylinder, a piston, igniting devices arranged in connection with the cylinder, said devices consisting essentially of fixed, separate electrodes in the cylinder and a circuit-closing diaphragm in a casing external to the cylinder and a pipe leading to a closed compartment of said casing from the interior of the cylinder, substantially as described.

2. In an igniting device for gas-driven rockdrills and the like, the combination of the cylinders, the pistons therein, igniting devices arrangedin connection with the cylinders, said devices consisting essentially of fixed, separate electrodes and a circuit-closing diaphragm, and pipes leading to said diaphragm from the interior of the cylinders, substantially as described.

3. In an igniting device for gas-driven rockdrills and the like, in combination with the cylinders, a piston movable therein, outlet and inlet valves, an igniting mechanism consisting essentially of a casing on the wall of the cylinder, a flexible diaphragm in the casing dividing it into'two compartments, electric wires having separate, fixed electrode-points within the cylinder, said wires having their electric circuit openedv and closed by the movement of said diaphragm, and a pipe leading from the interior of the cylinder to convey pressure to the compartment on one side of said diaphragm, substantially as described.

4. In an igniting device for gas-driven rockdrills and the like, in combination with, the cylinders, a piston movable therein, outlet and inlet Valves, an igniting mechanism consisting essentially of a casing, a flexible diaphragm in the casing dividing it into two compartments, electric wires having fixed, separate electrodepoints within the cylinder and running through one of the aforesaid compartments, wherein one of the wires is divided into parts having inclined ends adapted to contact with each other and one of the said ends being carried by the diaphragm, the electric circuit being I opened and closed by the movement of said diaphragm, and a pipe leading from the interior of the cylinder to convey pressure into the other compartment and against one side of said diaphragm, substantially as described.

5. In an engine of the character described, 

